THAMES TUNNEL

The purchase of a child's plate necessitated a bit of sleuthing.  I had never heard of the Thames Tunnel. 

Thames Tunnel commemorative child's plate, 7.25 inches/Rose, Tulip and Aster molded border

The Thames Tunnel was the first underwater tunnel. It was built beneath the Thames in London.  The text on the plate says it was:  1200 feet long. 76 feet below high water mark, was 8 years building, & cost 446, 000 pounds. Opened the 25th day of March. 1843. 

Close-up of the Thames Tunnel pattern

An interesting history of the Thames Tunnel is found here.  What was undertaken as a more efficient way to move goods and people across the Thames never came to fruition.  Instead, the tunnel was billed as the Eighth Wonder of the World!  People flocked to experience the walk under the water!  Souvenirs, of which the plate above is one, sold well.  However, the tunnel was a financial disaster.  A railway company purchased the tunnel in 1865, and today the tunnel is part of the London Overground.

The plate is impressed Scott for Scott & Co. (1800-1897).  The distinctive Rose, Tulip and Aster molded border was used by the factory for many of the children's patterns and commemorative patterns that they made.  Two large cracks didn't deter me from buying such an interesting piece of history.

Source print used for the Thames Tunnel plate

For a bit more history, read about two famous engineers who designed and worked on the tunnel: Marc Isambard Brunel his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel.